


Yesterday Will Make You Cry

by matchsticks_p (matchsticks)



Series: Small Vices [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec losing his virginity, Alternate Universe - Mob, Complete, Developing Relationship, Dubious Morality, First Time, Getting Together, Implied Violence, M/M, Mafia AU, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Organized Crime, Protective Alec Lightwood, past abusive relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:40:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22021954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matchsticks/pseuds/matchsticks_p
Summary: Camille Belcourt has double-crossed the wrong crime family. The Lightwoods send their best enforcer after her. Since she has given Magnus the opposite of a reason to protect her, he has no qualms about letting Alec in.  As they get to know each other, it soon stops becoming about Camille and starts becoming about them.(Prequel to "The Long Thrill", can be read alone.)
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, past Camille Belcourt/Magnus Bane
Series: Small Vices [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1585084
Comments: 64
Kudos: 317





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a prequel to "[The Long Thrill](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22021669)," set in the same universe but can be read alone. There will be implied references to a past abusive relationship, though nothing is explicitly described. If you are sensitive to these themes, please feel free to [message me on tumblr](http://riseagainphoenix.tumblr.com) for spoilers so you can decide what's right for you.

It was Clary who finally introduced them.

Magnus had an omniscient enough grasp of everything going on within his club to know that she and Isabelle Lightwood were here tonight, but they usually kept a low profile and didn't bring any trouble, so he had retreated to his office upstairs to work on some contracts. The knock at his open door interrupted his reading, and he looked up to see Clary's red hair and a shadow hanging back behind her.

"Biscuit! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Sorry to bother you," she said apologetically as Magnus set aside the documents in his hand, "I was wondering if you might have time to talk to my boyfriend's brother."

Magnus knew what she was really saying. Her boyfriend was a known member of the Lightwood family, and his brother meant Alec Lightwood, who was the lovely Isabelle's brother as well. This wasn't a request for idle conversation—it was to talk business, when up to now Magnus had always turned down all offers to become a business partner.

Clary's tone and face would have him think that it really was up to him, that he say no if he wanted to. On anyone else he might not believe it, but he had a long history of helping Clary's parents and trusted her loyalty.

The shadow behind her moved more fully into the light from Magnus's office, revealing a beautiful but serious countenance. Their eyes met, before Alec's swept down and then back up Magnus's body with a sort of restrained hunger, not possessive or presumptuous but definitely present. 

Impulsively, or perhaps compulsively, Magnus said yes. 

"Oh! Really?" Clary turned to Alec in surprise, then looked back at Magnus. "I mean, you definitely should, but I warned them you wouldn't. This is great." She turned back toward Alec again, and must have done something with her face that Magnus couldn't see, because Alec raised one eyebrow and minutely shook his head. "I'll leave you to it," Clary said to both of them, pushing Alec into the office and excusing herself, closing the door behind her without Magnus asking.

Magnus got up from behind his desk and moved to his personal bar cart, picking up a Waterford crystal whisky tumbler. "I find it very difficult to say no to beautiful things," he said with a wink, gesturing at the glass. "Drink?"

"I'm good," Alec said, crossing his arms in front of himself. It made his arms push distractingly against the seams of his leather jacket. 

"Oh, that you are," Magnus breathed. He poured himself a finger of scotch for fortitude.

Despite his stoicism so far, some colour rushed to Alec's cheeks. He cleared his throat. "I haven't properly introduced myself. Alec Lightwood," he said, proffering a hand. 

Magnus looked at it in bemusement. "Magnus Bane, charmed." He stuck his hand into Alec's limp-wristed, forcing Alec to take it like a knight about to pledge fealty to a lady. 

This kind of flirting was easy, enjoyable. It let Magnus to throw others off their game while keeping himself at once removed and too close for comfort. And when the object was so very attractive, it was also fun. He was ready to start a hundred more rounds of it when Alec threw him for a loop by getting straight to the point.

"I'm here to ask you about Camille Belcourt."

Magnus gripped his glass tighter before he could force himself not to react.

"She's taken something that doesn't belong to her."

Magnus scoffed. "Has she? I'm shocked."

"I know you have history with her," Alec continued. "If there's anything useful you can tell me about how to find her…"

Magnus's knuckles were white as bone from clenching his hand so tightly that something less hefty than his fine crystal might be at risk of shattering. Alec definitely noticed—his eyes zeroed in on Magnus's hand and lingered there. 

"I don't have anything to tell you, I haven't spoken to her in years."

"What about mutual acquaintances? Do you know anyone who—" Alec interrupted himself to reach out and still Magnus's hand. It had begun to shake, sending ripples through his liquor. Alec took the glass and set it behind him, onto a corner of Magnus's desk where it wouldn't get dropped. 

"Do you want to go get a coffee with me tomorrow afternoon? After work?" Magnus blurted out.

Alec's face reddened again, in the most beguiling way. Before he could respond, Magnus clarified, "I mean as a date. Not to talk about Camille."

Alec swallowed several times and thought about his answer for long enough that Magnus started to doubt his judgement. But then Alec seemed to settle some sort of argument that was happening in his own mind, and he said, "Yes. I want—I think I'd like that." 

Magnus beamed at him. They agreed to meet in front of Pandemonium in the late afternoon, and he typed his number into Alec's phone. He didn't know if Alec was accepting just for the chance to pump Magnus for more information, but he remembered all the previous times that Isabelle had heavily implied he really should meet the oldest Lightwood brother, and thought maybe he would give it a shot. 

* * * 

Magnus spent much of the following day on edge about the date, which was just ridiculous. 

In addition to the club, he also owned a small shop, which he closed an hour early just to agonize about his outfit. It was honestly pathetic. 

The extra time might have been a mistake. After getting ready, he still had a quarter of an hour left to stare at the mirror and question his every choice. Was he dripping in too many jewels? Was multiple stacked ear cuffs overkill? Were four buttons too many to leave unbuttoned on his shirt? Was it okay to wear six necklaces in his aforementioned wide-open collar, or should he take off a few? Did his plum eyeshadow clash with his pants, which were a different shade of purple? Should he not have put on eyeshadow at all, since he also had winged eyeliner on? 

He forced himself to leave for Pandemonium before he overthought everything and ended up showing up barefaced in a button down cardigan and khakis or something equally horrific.

Alec was already waiting at the front door when he arrived.

"You look incredible," Alec said, and then immediately looked embarrassed. "I mean, hi."

"Hello to you too, Alexander," Magnus preened, fiddling with one of his ear cuffs. "You don't look half bad yourself."

Alec smiled at him, a breathtaking sight, but then looked like he remembered he should be embarrassed and blushed. 

Magnus led them to the place he'd had in mind since yesterday, a small café within walking distance that was never too busy at this time of the day. Magnus insisted on paying for Alec's order, since he had been the one to ask him out. Alec pulled out his chair for him and rushed up in a hurry to grab both of their drinks when their names were called. 

Alec was not what one would call a talented conversationalist. He seemed to prefer to listen to Magnus prattle on about the comparative merits of different coffees he had tasted around the world, and only gave short, curt answers whenever Magnus left room for him to respond.

Out of nervousness, worried that he was starting to bore him, Magnus brought up Camille of his own accord.

"I'm still friends with someone who works with her on occasion, I think rarely, but I could ask him—"

"You said we're not talking about her," Alec pointed out.

"I only said that to keep you from bringing her up, dear."

Alec laid his fingers over Magnus's, like last night, as if to ground him. "Let's not?" He drew his hand back, and Magnus tried not to be disappointed. How could he be, with such a wonderful companion willing to avoid things he didn't want to talk about.

So instead, Magnus starts talking about Clary and Isabelle, explaining how he knew Clary, and asking if Alec was aware that his sister had been whispering about him into Magnus's ear for a while.

Alec ducked his head, shaking it while chuckling ruefully. "Izzy thinks my social life is her responsibility," he said. His whole demeanour changed when he talked about his siblings. He held himself with a hard air of danger, the way all of his family's associates did, but when he told Magnus about Izzy and Jace he softened at the edges. 

The stories he told about their childhoods passed the time quickly, even if it was noticeable that that he was careful not to include any incriminating details. Before either of them really realized it, the café was closing shop.

"I really should head home, anyway," Magnus sighed, carrying his long empty coffee cup to the counter. 

Alec helped him into his jacket. "Will you let me walk you?"

Magnus bit at his bottom lip, watching Alec's eyes track the movement. He had pull-out couch in his office at Pandemonium, he could sleep there for the night and keep a known mobster from finding out his address. 

Alec, seeming to shake himself out of the daze of watching his mouth, finally cottoned on to the issue. "Let me call you a cab and walk you to it," he amended.

The warmth that suffused Magnus had very little to do with the jacket he now had on. "Alright, yeah," he said softly.

Out into the night, walking to a brighter street corner with a more obvious landmark so the cab driver could find them more easily, Alec reached for his hand and then let it go again. Magnus caught it and held on. 

"I've never actually dated anyone before," Alec said in a rush, like a confession.

Magnus had more or less put that together, between Isabelle's matchmaking and the way Alec had told him about his siblings' romantic misadventures like an outsider looking in. He squeezed Alec's hand, pulling it toward his chest and clasping both hands around it. 

"I'm sorry I don't know what I'm doing."

"You're doing great," Magnus whispered.

In the muted yellow light of streetlamps and shop windows, Magnus leaned up and kissed him softly. Alec made a noise that made Magnus slide one hand along the side of his neck, palm against his tattoo before cradling the back of his head. 

When the taxi arrived, Alec helped Magnus into it and shut the door after making him promise to text him when he got home safe.


	2. Chapter Two

Before he knew it, they were texting each other every day.

Magnus learned that Alec was shit at texting and preferred to talk on the phone, so they also called each other at night before bed, recounting their days and making plans to get together. 

And Magnus didn't know why the _hell_ he was allowing any of this to go on. He had learned a lot of lessons, and as a consequence he had made a lot of rules to keep himself safe. Now he was breaking all of them like a fool. Alec made it easy to be foolish.

It became abundantly clear soon after their first date that Alec wasn't just putting in time with Magnus to get whatever information he thought Magnus had, Clary and Izzy's thinly disguised rationale for introducing them notwithstanding. Magnus had brought up his associate who might still work with Camille two more times, and each time Alec diverted him back their chats about their days and their ritual of elaborate goodnight wishes. 

The last time, Alec had said, "You don't come running to me for help when you negotiate with your vendors; you don't need to worry about helping me with my work." 

And that had been that.

One night, long after Magnus would've gone to sleep if he weren't waiting up for Alec to finish working late, Alec called and asked him if he wanted to go out for dinner that weekend. More specifically, through the phone in the hushed dark of his bedroom, Alec asked him to go for dinner with him, Jace, Clary, Izzy, and Izzy's favoured paramour of the month. 

On the surface, that seemed like a perfectly normal ask. Dinner with friends he already knew and his boyfriend's family. But Magnus knew that the people who would be around that table were deeply entrenched, high-ranking members of a crime syndicate. It wasn't just some regular dinner.

"Yeah, I'm free that day. I'll come," he whispered. 

On the other end of the call, Alec gave a pleased hum and offered to pick him up at his place.

Alec knew his address by now, had been over for a few brief drinks and had met the balcony cats Magnus took it upon himself to feed. Magnus was this far in over his head already; why not go to dinner with his crime boyfriend's crime family.

The day of the dinner, Alec buzzed at the front door and Magnus rang him up, not quite ready yet. 

"Take your time," Alec said as he leaned in to kiss Magnus's cheek, "those assholes can wait."

He settled himself on Magnus's couch, and Magnus looked down at him, amused. "What have they done now?"

"No one told them they're too old to be singing songs about Alec and Magnus sitting in a tree."

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Magnus spelled out solemnly, then laughed at Alec's grumpy glare.

"Don't you your routine to finish? Go do your thing," Alec said, moving his hand around his eyes and face in a circle and then gesturing toward Magnus's bathroom. 

Magnus hesitated. It was true that he preferred to go out all made up, but this was different. This was with his family, with a group, out in public. At a restaurant they presumably picked because they liked it, maybe even went to regularly. "Do you want me to tone it down a little? I could just wear lip gloss." He looked down and saw that his nails were painted a very bright baby blue with gold flecks. "Should I wipe my nail polish off? What do you want me to wear?"

Alec frowned at him. "What? Wear whatever you want."

"Well naturally, but—your family, and the restaurant…"

Alec had very long legs. He took three strides to cross the room so he could stand directly in front of Magnus and put his hands on his shoulders. "Listen," he said, his tone in Magnus's opinion perhaps a little too intense for a simple conversation about clothes and makeup, "I want you to understand this, so listen: I do not expect you to give a shit about what Jace or anyone else thinks of what you wear in public."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay," Magnus repeated, louder and sturdier.

In the end, he went with an aggressively, almost obnoxiously bold shade of fuchsia for his eyes, and a dark blazer that sparkled with chains and sequins. Alec said nothing about it besides that he looked great. 

Dinner was lovely. The food was superb, and Clary as always was a delight. Isabelle was hilarious, and he joined her in teasing Alexander mercilessly, but stopped to occasionally run a hand up his thigh under the table so he couldn't get too cranky. Jace had more smirks than words for Magnus, but when the evening drew to a close and they hugged goodbye, he pounded Magnus's back very hard indeed, which he assumed meant that he approved.

Magnus felt light and giddy as Alec escorted him back home. More than just the wonderful time out with loved ones and the excellent wine, he felt drunk on Alec's good mood. The relaxed warmth Alec exuded when he was around his family was contagious. He loosened up in ways that Magnus couldn't even see he was normally wound tight. And he had looked so extremely _proud_ all night to have Magnus on his arm, so happy to pour him drinks and rest his hand on the small of his back and open doors for him. Alec's eyes got warmer and warmer every time he looked at him; by the time they got back to Magnus's apartment his gazes were positively burning. 

Alec had him spun around and pushed up against the door as soon as he closed it.

They kissed heatedly, with more teeth than they normally used. Magnus was light-headed, the need to breathe so much less important than the need to not let Alec's lips leave his for more than a second. His mouth felt plush, swollen with the attention Alec paid to it with his tongue. 

He could feel Alec's hands wandering all over his body. Up until now, he had kept his explorations on top of Magnus's clothes. But his hands were sneaking under his shirt now, so large that they spanned Magnus's ribs, and Magnus enthusiastically supported this intrepid new experiment by biting Alec's neck, muffling his moan into the tattoo there. 

Alec's hands reached his flies and fumbled there awkwardly. Magnus had been waiting for Alec to initiate, not wanting to pressure him until he decided on his own that he was well and truly ready. He seemed awfully ready now. 

"I've never done this before," Alec said, as Magnus started helping him out of his clothes. "I don't want to mess it up."

"You couldn't if you tried. You're doing great," Magnus replied, an echo of their first date. 

Alec's eyes shone brightly as he grinned at him. 

Magnus led him into the bedroom, shedding the remaining articles of their clothing along the way and ending up naked by the time they hit his sheets. 

"These are nice," Alec mumbled, rubbing a hand along his bedding.

"They're satin," Magnus said fondly, rolling on top of him. "You're probably a heathen who's used to lying on polyester blend."

"I couldn't tell you what sheets I have to save my life." Alec rose up onto his elbows to nip at Magnus's jaw. "I'll have to show them to you sometime so you can tell me."

"That was smooth, I'm impressed," Magnus said, breaking off into a groan as Alec's exploratory mouth found his nipple. He sat up into a straddle, sitting onto Alec's thighs, legs open so he could push his cock against Alec's. Alec twitched, an involuntary whimper leaving his throat so loudly that it seemed to startle him.

Magnus began rocking his hips forward in small, rhythmic movements. Alec's hands flew to Magnus's hips, grasping hard enough to bruise, and then quickly letting go again with a murmured apology. Magnus grabbed his hands and put them back around his waist with an encouraging nod. 

With his own hands, he meandered over the hard planes of Alec's body, lying writhing with want beneath him. He was a sight to behold, muscles rippling under pale skin marked by ink and scars. He threw his chin back most invitingly when the head of Magnus's cock caught under his own, smearing precum across his frenulum, and Magnus gave in to the urge to lean over and bite gently at his Adam's apple. When Magnus's sweeping hands moved from Alec's chest to his flanks to the V of his hips, and finally to the base of his cock, Alec rocked up with a sharp inhale through his teeth.

"Magnus, Magnus, Magnus," he panted.

"What do you need, my love?" 

"Can I sit up?"

"You can do anything you want," Magnus said, and with that permission Alec surged up. Magnus was still seated in his lap, but now Alec was sitting up as well, pressing their chests and torsos close together, trapping their hardnesses between them. "God, yes, that's perfect," Magnus gasped.

"I wanted to be able to hold you," Alec said, wrapping his arms around Magnus's middle and drawing him closer still. 

Magnus could cry, from pleasure and from how it felt to be enfolded in Alec's embrace. 

Alec was thrusting back against him with every push of Magnus's hips, but Magnus could tell it wasn't quite enough. He needed more, they both needed more. He hurriedly licked his palm and reached between their bodies, taking both of them in hand.

"Oh my god," Alec cried out, arms clenching even tighter around Magnus. He looked at Magnus like he couldn't believe anything could feel like this. 

"Yeah," Magnus breathed against his shoulder, burying his face there. He swiped his fingers over the slick heads of their cocks, spreading their combined wetness around. Jolts of pleasure sparked all over his body, centered between his legs but diffusing throughout all of him. He felt Alec _throb_ against him. He squeezed their cocks together, letting Alec fuck into his hand, fuck up next to his own aching length until they both shook.

"That's it, come on, I've got you," he murmured, tightening his hand, and Alec came with a messy cry, cock pulsating against Magnus's, spurting over both of their stomachs.

Alec hugged him close as he trembled with aftershocks, and Magnus let him, licking the shell of his ear while Alec clutched him to his chest. Before long, he was snaking a hand down to take a hold of Magnus's cock.

"You don't have to," Magnus said, and Alec said back, "I want to. I want you to show me what to do."

He was dangerously close to coming from those words alone. "Here, like this," he said, changing Alec's grip. He bounced in Alec's lap into his hand, forearms braced around Alec's shoulders, and slotted their mouths together in a sloppy kiss. His orgasm washed over him in a tidal wave of both pleasure and relief, and he floated on it, coming back down to Alec laying them both onto the bed.

As soon as he was able to muster up some semblance of coherency, he tilted forward and pressed a kiss to the tip of Alec's nose. "How was that?" he asked, caressing the back of his neck.

"Good," Alec answered. He looked wide-eyed at Magnus. "I just had sex."

Magnus hid his laugh against Alec's neck. "Did you? I didn't notice."

Alec didn't dignify him with a response, arranging their limbs until they were tangled together to his satisfaction. Magnus wrinkled his nose at the way this caused some of their body parts to stick together. "We really should shower and throw the sheets in the laundry."

"Shhhh," Alec said into Magnus's hair, "don't bother me. I'm processing this major milestone in my life."

Magnus laughed at him again, openly this time, but settled into his lazy post-coital buzz before long, which Alec interrupted by asking, "Do you mind if I stay the night?"

 _It's too late now_ , Magnus thought. They were having family dinners and sleeping over at each other's homes, it was too late to save himself with his rules. "I'd like nothing more, Alexander," he said out loud. 

He could feel Alec's smile against his temple where he pressed a goodnight kiss before they fell asleep together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read so far for the kind words and enthusiasm! Chapter 3 is fully written and will be posted when I get most of chapter 4 (final chapter) done, so that I can ensure a reasonable update time. Let me know what you think of this one, and if you want you can [find me on Tumblr here](https://riseagainphoenix.tumblr.com).


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this chapter contains oblique references to consent issues and involuntary drugging. Nothing is explicitly described, Magnus just vaguely mentions and/or implies something that happened in the past. If you are sensitive to these things and want to know more, feel free to [message me on Tumblr](http://riseagainphoenix.tumblr.com/ask) and I'd be happy to privately tell you spoilers so you can decide whether you want to read it.

After the first time, it was like a dam had broken. They fucked all the time, on every surface in every room of Magnus's apartment, in Alec's rooms at the massive Lightwood estate where his family all lived. 

(Alec assured him that his rooms were soundproofed, and besides that the next closest bedroom was in a whole other wing, and nobody else was even home. He swore that no one could possibly hear them, but Magnus still shushed him through giggles, making them keep quiet just in case. When he swirled his tongue over the slit of Alec's cock and Alec couldn't contain a loud moan, Magnus clapped a damp hand over his mouth and Alec's pupils had dilated with surprised arousal. He came when Magnus suggested using a gag to make sure no one would overhear how hot Magnus could get him.)

Magnus initiated more and more, no longer overly worried about making sure Alec didn't feel rushed into taking too big a step. And, as Alec gained more and more confidence through experience, his touches lost that tentative hesitancy, becoming firm and sure, knowing just what Magnus liked and how to please him. 

They fucked so much that there was no way it was sustainable, the hormonal honeymoon period eventually running its course towards an inevitable ebb. 

One night, the bar at Magnus's club is caught short staffed due to an unfortunate convergence of surprise illnesses and emergencies. Being a hands-on owner, Magnus stepped up to do the work himself. It kept him out much later than he originally planned, and although he wasn't half bad at mixing drinks and making easy conversation with patrons, it was exhausting work.

By the time he finally got home, he was tired and irritated from all of the handsy drunks he'd had to fend off towards closing time, people mistaking flirtation borne of professionalism for an actual invitation. He had planned to go to sleep straight after his nightly phone call with Alec. 

But as soon as he picked up the phone, Alec was asking if he could come over, and Magnus had always had trouble saying no to him. That's how he found himself opening the door for Alec while yawning. 

"Hey, sorry for just inviting myself over," Alec said with a self-conscious flick of his eyes down to his feet and back up again. "Work kept me out late too, I thought maybe it would be nice to spend the night together."

"You're always welcome here, darling," he said, pulling Alec in and giving him a quick peck.

Alec bounced on the balls of his feet a little before following Magnus around the apartment as he put away various items of clothing and accessories. He kept offering to reheat some food for Magnus, fix him a drink, draw him a bath, anything. There was something frenetic contained within his usual tightly controlled poise, like whatever he'd been doing tonight had given him slightly too much energy. Magnus noticed that he was wearing a different shirt and jeans than what he'd been wearing when they'd said goodbye that morning. Alec was unlikely to change outfits just for fashion reason; he'd probably gotten dirty at work, maybe doing whatever it was that had him so animated now, his pep the opposite of how Magnus felt.

After yet another offer to make him a nightcap, Magnus said, "I really don't need anything, I'm so tired all I want to do is go to bed."

"Bed sounds good," Alec murmured, pulling Magnus into his arms, kissing him languorously.

"Mmm, yeah," Magnus agreed, walking them both towards the bedroom. When they got there Alec began to kiss his way down his neck with a purposeful intent, nibbling and sucking at the soft skin over Magnus's pulse point.

"Wait." Magnus placed his hands on Alec's chest so he could push him back enough to urge him to look up. Alec's eyes were shining with excitement, looking so eager and playful that Magnus almost gave up on what he was going to say. But when he didn't say anything, Alec urged him with a "hmm?" and a nudge, so Magnus spit it out. "I think I might be too tired to get in the mood, I'm scared I'll fall asleep on you while taking your clothes off. I'm so sorry. It's not anything you did wrong, I swear, it's all on me."

"Magnus—"

"I can still blow you! I can make you come quick, and then we can go to sleep." 

"Magnus," Alec said again, louder. Magnus stopped talking. He regretted bringing this up. He should've just kept his mouth shut and gone along with it.

Alec put his hands on Magnus's shoulders and started speaking in a tone of voice that gave Magnus déjà vu, back to the time Magnus had asked Alec what he should wear to dinner. "You never have to apologize for not wanting to have sex," Alec said. His fingers clenched into Magnus's shoulders. "You don't need an excuse. All you need to do is tell me. I'm not mad. If I didn't feel like it, would you be mad?"

"Of course not, Alexander."

"It's the same the other way around. Do you get what I'm saying?" 

Magnus was so tired. Too tired to parse out the bewildering tangle of warmth and confusion and worry and affection churning inside him. "Sure," he said.

The brief downward tug of a corner of Alec's mouth betrayed his dissatisfied with that answer, but before they could get into a new bout of overly intense conversation about it, Magnus said, "I'm just tired. Can we go to sleep? Please?"

Alec deflated a little, backing down. "Yeah," he sighed, "yeah, of course."

They got out of their clothes quickly and efficiently, Magnus's behaviour having obviously sucked all the sensuality out of the ambience. Under the blankets, with Magnus's head on his shoulder and just about asleep, Alec whispered, "I'm still glad I came over so we could do this."

* * *

He never asked how Alec's search for Camille turned out.

He didn't ask what she did in the first place or what they did to her in return. He didn't ask Alec anything about work, besides the broadest generalities of how his day went. The one time Alec came over looking a little worse for wear, one sleeve ripped, one eye black, and one lip split, Magnus had patched him up and kissed his bruises and hadn't asked what happened. 

Alec took his cues and never tried to tell him anything he didn't ask.

They went on like this and it worked for them. Their relationship entered its sixth month and it kept working. 

To mark this momentous occasion, Magnus woke Alec with an effusive text full of long strings of emojis and several hyperboles. By lunchtime Alec had arranged for a beautiful bouquet of lilies to be sent to Magnus's office. Magnus hadn't expected anything more than that. Despite his silly text professing his willingness to walk to the ends of the earth and fight many-headed dragons for Alec, he knew that six months wasn't actually a real anniversary. He'd been pleased with the flowers, and considered it more than enough.

But when he got home at the end of the day, he found Alec in his kitchen.

"Hi," Alec greeted with a wide smile, elbows deep in chopped vegetables. "I used my key, I hope you don't mind. I wanted to surprise you."

"Of course I don't mind," Magnus said, distractedly kissing him on the cheek while surveying the mess sprawled across his kitchen. Every burner had a pan of something bubbling away on it, the sink was full of bowls and utensils, and the oven was on. The air smelled both delicious and burnt. It smelled of havoc, but lovingly so. "What's all this?"

"I'm cooking dinner for you. Pasta from scratch, homemade bread, my mother's own sauce recipe, the whole works."

Alec looked proud of himself, and Magnus's mind whirled. Pasta dough could be very forgiving. There were a lot places in the process where someone could slip something into it, fold an innocuous little powder in and hardly affect the texture at all. The sauce, too. It smelled fragrant, savoury, wonderful. Strong enough flavours to hide the taste of something that shouldn't be in it. His eyes darted to the many jars lined across his counter. The labels could all belie what was inside.

"Magnus? Magnus, look at me," Alec said, like he had been calling him for a while. 

Magnus realized he was breathing hard enough for his chest to ache.

Alec was rubbing his arms, and through that motion could feel his shaking. He walked him to the couch and sat him down, offering to pour him some wine. Magnus stared at the corked and sealed bottle and nodded. That would be nice. 

"Here we go," Alec said in a light and pleasant tone, handing Magnus a glass of red before pouring one for himself. He sat down on the coffee table across from Magnus so that their knees touched. 

Magnus swirled his glass with a flourish and watched Alec watch the movement with captivated eyes. He bit down a small smile and sipped his wine. The rich taste settled his nerves, and without planning to he said, "I had a bad experience with someone I used to date cooking for me."

Alec's face gave nothing away. He merely nodded for him to go on.

"They drugged my food a few times. Without me knowing." 

He didn't say anything more, and they just sat in silence, regarding each other. The inscrutable look Alec had on must be what he looked like when he was at work, Magnus thought. Alec forced it off of his face to lean forward and hug Magnus, burying his nose in his hair.

"Tell me what to do to make this better," he begged, and his voice was different from how Magnus had ever heard it before.

Magnus thought about his careful rules, thought about how the smart thing to do would be to tell Alec they should stop seeing each other. That would make this better. Get out before they got in too deep to turn back. He also thought about how tempting it was to just force himself to eat the food and tell him everything's fine. He thought about how he sometimes wore his most ridiculous outfits to the most inappropriate places just to test Alec, like a bodychain over a mesh shirt and leather pants to meet his parents or a beautifully ostentatious feather headpiece to a greasy spoon on a weeknight, and no matter what Alec always looked at him like a man dying of thirst looking at a glass of water. 

He stroked Alec's hair while they were still hugging, rocking him a little. Alec made an upset noise and clutched him tighter.

"Throw out what you've made," Magnus suggested. "Start over and let me watch you. Let me help you."

Without even a second of hesitation, Alec said, "Okay." Magnus had half said it just to see how he would respond, but Alec was already pulling him up with him and moving back towards the kitchen.

"Did you know Izzy's a really terrible cook? She used to try out recipes on us all the time, before she was banned from the kitchen for everyone's safety," he said conversationally as he turned off the oven and took pans off the stovetop, like they were doing something normal. "If she ever tries to cook for you, call me and tell me it's an emergency, I'll drop everything and come save you." 

Magnus didn't fake a laugh, but it did make him crack a real smile. He leaned on the counter and watched Alec scrape perfectly good sauce into the garbage bin. Gesturing for Alec to hand him the spatula, he rinsed it off in the sink so they could use it for a new sauce. 

Okay. They could do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, I can't believe we're at the end of chapter three already. What did you think of this one? The next chapter will be the final one in this particular story (but not in the "Small Vices" series)! What do you think will happen? I can tell you that it will have more Jace and Clary, and more action, but that's all I'm saying. 
> 
> Also! I created a moodboard/aesthetic/fanart thing for this fic, like I did for "The Long Thrill". You might enjoy [looking at it here,](https://riseagainphoenix.tumblr.com/post/190221843972/yesterday-will-make-you-cry-nc-17-on-ao3) and if you like it enough to reblog it that would make my day.


	4. Chapter 4

Clary and Jace were with him when it happened.

They had been returning from a shopping trip. Clary had been invited to some VIP fashion designer sale through her artistic friends, and Magnus was delighted when she extended her invitation to him. Jace was less delighted to be dragged along, but Clary wanted his company and Magnus thought it would be hilarious to watch how bored and annoyed he got. After much cajoling, he finally gave in and it had, indeed, been hilarious.

With arms full and wallets empty, they stopped at Magnus's to drop off some bags before heading to the Lightwood estate. 

"What a shame you refused to get that jumpsuit, you looked so very fetching in it," Magnus said as they spilled out of the elevator.

"That thing had sequins to emphasize the crotch area! It was ugly as sin!"

"It was," Magnus agreed. "It was a vast improvement on how you normally look."

Jace gasped in outrage. "Why you little—" he snarled, reaching out to mess up Magnus's hair. Magnus cackled and quickly ducked away as he opened his door, stepping into his apartment. 

"Seriously though, you should've at least bought that blazer with the velvet lapels. You looked so hot in it, right Magnus?"

Magnus didn't respond to Clary, too busy looking around his apartment with a sense of unease. Something was wrong with it, but he couldn't figure out what. He vaguely heard Jace splutter about the price of the blazer, and then their voices faded from his attention. It was his bedroom door.

"Magnus?" Clary asked, a hand on his arm and a question in her eyes.

"I'm fairly certain I closed that door this morning. I do every morning, to prevent the cats from getting in."

The door was half open now.

"Maybe you forgot?" Jace suggested, drawing his pistol and stepping closer to them. 

Magnus eyed the gun in disapproval, but just said, "Maybe I did."

Clary not so subtly moved in front of Magnus, putting herself between him and the bedroom. He shook himself out of it. He was just being silly, he probably failed to close it all the way and one of his lovely feline friends pushed it open, that was all. Shooting Clary a withering look, he stepped around her and strode with false bravado towards his room. 

There was a note on his bed. Just placed daintily on top of the duvet, a square of paper folded over. Maybe Alec had snuck back in to leave him a romantic little letter. Highly unlike him, but not impossible. 

His instincts screamed that that wasn't it. Something just felt…off. The makeup on top of his vanity was scattered differently from how he left it, though if pressed he couldn't specify how exactly. Some of his drawers didn't seem closed all the way. It felt like someone had rifled through his room while he was out, and he reached for the note with trepidation. 

As he flipped it open, Clary pressed close behind him while Jace proceeded to check whether the window was secure.

 _Wishing you all the best in your life's new romantic adventures_ was all it said, with a small heart drawn sweetly at the end. 

All the blood drained from Magnus's face.

He recognized that handwriting. 

"What is it?" Clary asked, eyes skimming the paper. "What's going on?"

It didn't matter what it said. It was what it implied. That she'd found his address, that she knew he was seeing someone, that she'd been in his home and touched his bed. Magnus was going to be sick. 

Jace rejoined them and grabbed the note out of his hand. Over his dread, over the pounding of blood in his ears, he was distractedly aware that Clary and Jace were silently communicating with their eyebrows. Jace pulled out his phone and called someone, said into it, "Alec? You need to get here, now."

Clary sat on the couch with Magnus and held his hand until Alec arrived. He squeezed her fingers whenever his mind inevitably skittered back to the fact that Camille _knew where he lived_. She had been inside his home, in the place where he slept, the place where he lay his head at night next to Alec. He didn't even know how long she'd known. She could've been watching him for months. She could've come in whenever she wanted and touched all his things. 

Clary roused him from his spiraling thoughts and pointed out that Alec was coming in. 

Alec practically sprinted from the door to the sofa, landing roughly on his knees in front of Magnus and cupping his face, sliding his hands down his arms, checking him over, searching his eyes. "What happened?" 

"Camille left me a note," Magnus said.

Saying the name out loud triggered another round of wordless eyes-only communication among the other three. Clary gave him a quick hug before stepping out with Jace, and Alec rose to take her vacated seat next to Magnus. 

When Alec put an arm around his shoulders, it felt slightly less like the world was ending.

"I put up with a lot from her when we were together, because she saved my life once. She took advantage of that." It was the first time Magnus had really put it in such clear terms, but Alec looked the opposite of surprised.

"The first time we ever met, your hand started shaking when I brought her up," Alec said. 

"After her, I got smarter. But then you came along, and—did you know you've never not liked any of my outfits? I thought you just loved my clothes, but then I borrowed the ugliest shirt my friend owns once and you still looked at me the way you always look at me. It turns out you just have no taste."

"I have amazing taste. It's not my fault you look incredible in everything."

Magnus nestled in closer. "You look at me like you like me as much with my clothes on as you do with them off. And you cook for me. And she knows about you, she knows you sleep here, she knows—"

"I can make her disappear."

Magnus fell silent. Alec was curled around him protectively, like he could shelter him from the rest of the universe with his body alone. That was what it meant to be with Alec Lightwood. His body was a shield, and a weapon. He could make people disappear. 

"I don't order hits on people, Alexander. It's not the kind of person I want to be." He was no angel; he'd turned a blind eye to plenty of deals that got made at his club, he'd associated with con artists and crooks and all kinds of felons and benefited from those associations, even if he hadn't directly participated, and now he had joined his life not just to Alec but to his family. But there was still a line he wouldn't cross. He wasn't going to point a gun and pull the trigger at someone, even metaphorically.

"Tell me I shouldn't, then," Alec said, pulling back enough to make eye contact.

Instead, Magnus redirected the conversation. "I can't live here anymore."

"No, of course not," Alec said like he was horrified just thinking about it.

"I've picked up on your incredibly subtle hints that you've been wanting us to move in together. All your clothes are in my closet and you've 'forgotten' to bring your own toiletries for four weeks in a row now." Magnus rolled his eyes. 

"I was being proactive! You obviously weren't going to move into the estate—"

"Yes, shocking how being walked in on by your brother several dozen times would put me off the idea—"

"—and your apartment feels so much more like home anyway. Or it did."

Magnus looked around at his gilded wallpaper, his exquisitely curated furniture collected from his travels around the world, the balcony that he was now going to have to devote entire days to convincing the cats to abandon for a new place. "It really did," he said glumly.

"Hey now." Alec chucked him under the chin before tilting him up for a soft kiss. "We can find a new place together. Think of all the shopping you'll get to do to redecorate it."

Magnus allowed himself to be sufficiently cheered by thoughts of paint chips and ornate rugs and lamps of improbable shapes and sizes, and let Alec pull him up off the couch so they could leave the apartment behind. He would arrange for movers to pick up his things. He wasn't coming back here again. As soon as they stepped out onto the street, they were rejoined by Jace and Clary, who had apparently spent the whole time Magnus thought they had gone home prowling around the perimeter. The building was compromised now. It wasn't safe anymore.

Magnus spent the rest of the day trying very hard not to think about it, and thinking about it a lot. Alec was the perfect picture of patience with him, but after an awkward family dinner where Maryse was cold, Robert was disapproving, Izzy was overly bubbly to make up for it, and Magnus was too tense to notice, Alec dragged him to his rooms to remind him there were more positive things to focus on.

He guided them to his large en suite bathroom and sat Magnus up onto the stone counter.

"I," Alec said, undoing the buttons of Magnus's shirt one by one and pausing to nibble at each new stretch of skin revealed, "know how. We can. Get your mind. Off of things." He slid the open shirt off Magnus's shoulders, and sucked a red-purple bruise under his clavicle. 

"Why, Alexander Lightwood, are you proposing to use sex as a distraction?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" He sank slowly to his knees and rested his palm on Magnus's fly, not unbuttoning it until he got the go-ahead.

"On the contrary, I think it's a brilliant plan," he said, smiling fondly down at Alec, words turning into a helpless groan as Alec instantly worked his mouth down Magnus's half-hard cock. "I was just surprised, is all," he choked out. "I still remember when you would have been far too innocent to suggest that, but now look at you. A seasoned connoisseur."

"Oh, is that what you like? You want me to pretend to be all wide-eyed and virginal for you?" Alec teased, dropping his chin so he could gaze up at Magnus through his eyelashes, laving little kitten licks around Magnus's shaft.

Despite the pleasure creeping up his spine, Magnus laughed. "Stooo~ooop," he whined breathlessly, swatting Alec's shoulder as he continued to gingerly lick his way down to the base, the fluttering touch not nearly enough for what Magnus needed.

Alec laughed too, huffing warm air across Magnus's damp skin, causing him to arch off the countertop. 

"Stop, come on," he begged again, spreading his legs wider. "Let me…" With his hand on the back of Alec's head, he guided his mouth properly onto his cock. Alec let him, and finally closed his lips firmly around his length, sucking him into velvety wet heat. 

Even their terrible track record of Jace overhearing them couldn't stop Magnus from crying out, and Alec kept up a relentless pace until Magnus came down his throat.

Magnus slid onto the floor in a crumpled daze, and when he came back to being fully aware of his surroundings again, Alec was drawing them a bath.

"I'm going to miss this giant tub," Alec sighed as they slipped into the hot water together, settling with Magnus's back to Alec's chest, Magnus's ass to his dick. 

"I'm certain we can find a new place with an equally spacious tub, if that's one of your must-haves," Magnus said. 

"How could it not be," Alec murmured, winding his arms around Magnus and resting his chin over his shoulder. He brought their joint hands up to the sudsy surface of the water and used Magnus's finger to pop a few bubbles. "Isn't this nice?" 

"Mmm. We can make lists of all the features we want in an apartment tomorrow, and compare them." 

"Sounds good."

Magnus sat back and wiggled his bum against Alec's groin. "Apparently it sounds _very_ good to you. Is that a bar of soap or are you just happy to see me?"

"Hey, _you're _the one who gets turned on by furniture catalogues," Alec said, biting Magnus's shoulder playfully, "Don't project onto me."__

__"I'll do whatever I want onto you," Magnus replied, and began grinding back against him in earnest. He let Alec's cock ride the cleft of his ass, reaching a hand behind himself to hold it there. Alec's cock was caught between his cheeks and his palm, and his hips fucked helplessly up into that hot channel. Water splashed over the edge of the tub._ _

__Magnus rubbed against him until he came, blowing his load onto the small of his back and necessitating another bath, this one for actual cleaning purposes and not just a pretext to cuddle in the nude._ _

__The next morning, Alec brought him stacks of those catalogues he liked so much and only complained a very little when Magnus made him look at his Pinterest boards for interior design inspiration._ _

__They found a place to their mutual liking soon enough—two bathrooms, one with a bathtub that could fit them both—and as time passed Maryse Lightwood gradually got over her displeasure at Alec moving off of a property within her immediate control._ _

__Despite this positive change that she entirely unintentionally instigated, Magnus never heard from Camille again._ _

__Once, a friend of his from the local small business association asked if he knew where to find her._ _

__"I have an investment opportunity that might be suitable for her," Raphael said, "but her number is no longer in use and nobody seems to have seen her recently."_ _

__"I'm happy to say I don't have the slightest idea as to her whereabouts," Magnus said, and Raphael, knowing their history, had taken it at face value and didn't ask him again._ _

__Magnus never passed on the inquiry on to Alec, and with each day that passed her unused name faded more from the forefront of his mind. The only trace of her left was the note she had left in his old apartment. He knew Alec saved it, as some sort of memento for reasons Magnus refused to spend time trying to fathom. Because he forbade it from their home, Alec kept it in the office he shared with Jace in a commercial building owned by their parents. Magnus had no plans to ever visit said office, so the note became very much like Camille herself—something from their past that brought them together to where they were now, and something that no longer mattered._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus concludes the story of how Magnus and Alec got together in the "Small Vices" crime family alternate universe, and the beginnings of how they would become the power couple we know and love. What did you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thank you to everyone who has read to the end, I appreciate each of you very much. This is not the last you'll see of the mob AU.
> 
> But first, I'll be taking a short break to work on a different AU: prostitute Magnus—no, more accurately, _fancy courtesan_ Magnus, in an otherwise canon Shadowhunters universe, where everyone is a lot less dark and there is a lot more lighthearted banter and demon-hunting action. If that sounds like something you'd be interested in, keep your eye out for a fic that will be titled "Make the Right Mistake" in a few weeks/months!

**Author's Note:**

> Deepest thanks to [Adi_Rotynd](/users/adi_rotynd/) for cheerleading and looking up stuff and being much too encouraging. This would never have been written or posted if it weren't for her.


End file.
